Download Batman - The Caped Crusader

This very good adventure game was inspired by a comic hero and actually consists of two little games that are very much alike. You are supposed to stop Joker and catch Penguin (separated in two games), Batman's sworn enemies and save the city of Gotham. What else could a big bat do?

You lead our hero through the comic boxes which is a very original and interesting idea. You wander around searching for items and how to use them. By pressing down+fire you pick up objects or enter the inventory. In the inventory you lead a small Batman-sign in order to select the proper action. Five icons in the middle are for drop, use, exit inventory, restart the game or switch music on-off. You also see empty boxes. When you pick up an object, it will appear in the previously empty box as an icon. In order to use or drop it, you must first select the item and then select the action. Very simple.

There is a slowly melting Batman's face shown in the inventory. This represents your energy, but it’s actually the time you have left since the energy is slowly draining even if there are no enemies nearby. Along the way you'll find various sorts of food which will recover your energy. Also, you will find some food that the enemies will drip. This means that you'll have to haste to finish the mission. Enemies are unlimited and may only cause faster energy drain.

In the first mission Joker has set dynamite under the city and has captured Robin. You have to neutralize the explosives, help your friend and find Joker. In the second mission you "just" need to catch Penguin. This means entering his house. No easy task for the bat. Both games look the same and are only different in goals and puzzles, but don't think that if you’ve finished one, the second might be boring. You'll ask for more after you complete them.

The PC version is very good, although worse than the other versions. Graphics are good for the time the game appeared, animation is fine, but unfortunately only the PC speakers are supported. The great music from C64 version is missing. The theme is short and repetitive, and you might soon decide to turn it off. The quality of is FX won't satisfy you either. As for the controls, they are easy to handle.

So, this is a good, interesting and quite fun adventure. This is a must-try for several reasons: beside it is fun, you won't find many adventures like this and you surely won't find ones with Batman. I hope that adventure-lovers and Batman fans will enjoy this game like some old-school players did.